How to Make Bread Pudding with a Variety of Flavors

Bread Pudding is a decadent, versatile dessert that can be made with a variety of ingredients to create an almost infinite number of variations.

If you have never tried bread pudding forget the goopy made from a boxed mix concept of pudding. Instead imagine French toast made with MORE; more milk, more eggs and extra add ins.

In fact, the first time my mom made it she called it "Cajun Delight" because she got the recipe from a cooking class she took on her vacation to New Orleans.

She thought my brother and I would balk at the name. We might have looked at her funny, but we were (and still are) adventurous eaters.

Variations for Bread Pudding

The basic recipe is delicious as is, but here are some ideas for varying it to inspire you to get creative:

Bread: Obviously you need bread to make bread pudding. If you have a loaf that is getting stale (but not moldy - yeck!) slice it in to pieces and let it soak in the milk and egg mixture like you would French toast to turn it into custard like perfection when done.

You can use just about any type of bread, but rye or pumpernickel might be a bit odd for dessert. Some delicious choices besides plain white bread include Panettone, Hawaiian rolls, cinnamon raisin, and chocolate bread.

You can also use leftover cake. But, you will want to cut down on the sugar in the custard mix.

Milk: You can use dairy or non-dairy milk and it will not vary the taste much.

Eggs: I always use regular chicken eggs, with one yolk saved for the sauce. You could try the following as substitues:

• a commercial egg substitute,
• 3 tablespoons ground flax meal soaked in 9 tablespoons water (a little more than ½ cup)
• ½ cup aquafaba (bean water)
• ½ cup blended soft tofu

I have not tried any of these! If you do, please let us know how it comes out.

Brandy is traditionally used in the sauce, but you can use other liqueurs such as Kahlua, Limoncello, Amaretto, Irish Cream. Or go non-alcoholic with fruit juice or liquid coffee syrups.

Mix ins: Here is where you can really get creative. You need 3 to 4 cups of "extras" to go along with the bread. Some ideas:

• raisins, dried cranberries, candied citrus peel (fruit cake mix)
• fresh fruit like berries or chopped apples
• chopped nuts
• shredded coconut
• chocolate chips or chopped up candy bars

Spices: I am not a big fan of chocolate and cinnamon/nutmeg so I omit them when I add chocolate ingredients.

A few variations I have made are leftover Easter chocolate, with some of the chocolate bread, chocolate eggs and malted milk eggs. I skipped making any sauce and just drizzled chocolate sauce on top.

And at Christmas time there was the Panettone Bread Pudding with Limoncello Sauce.

Old Fashioned Bread Pudding

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Ingredients

 

PUDDING

• 6-8 cups any type of stale bread
• 4 cups milk (or 2 cups milk and 2 cups heavy cream)
• 1-2 cup sugar (depends on the sweetness of the additional ingredients)
• 3 eggs plus one white (save the yolk for the sauce)
• 2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
• 3-4 cups extra ingredients (see Note)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

SAUCE

• ½ cup butter
• 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg yolk (saved from the pudding)
• ½ cup brandy (other liqueur or fruit juice)

Instructions

 

• Preheat over to 350℉.
• Method 1 (more pudding like): Combine bread and milk. Let stand until bread is soft. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly..
• Method 2 (more cake like): Combine milk, sugar, egg and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients and stir lightly until just combined. Let rest a few minutes until bread absorbs the liquid.
• Pour into buttered baking dish, either 9 x 9 or 9 x 13 inches, depending upon the amount of mixture. Cook 45 minutes to 1 hour, until top is golden brown and knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Serve warm. The sauce below is optional.
• Cream butter and sugar over medium heat until all butter is absorbed. Remove from heat and blend in egg yolk. Pour in liquid gradually, stirring constantly. Sauce will thicken as it cools. Serve warm over pudding.

Notes

Along with the bread you will want to add 3-4 cups of any combination of items such as:

• raisins or other dried fruit
• fresh fruit such as berries or chopped apples
• shredded coconut,
• chopped nuts,
• chocolate chips or chocolate candy bars chopped into small pieces.

Use less sugar when adding sweeter ingredients, such as candy.